MemCom 2012 Cutting Edge or Cutting Back John Brindley Director Membership & Business, Institute of Physics

WELCOME TO MEMCOM 2012 l About IOP l MemCom – Commercial Revenue Survey l Precedent – Big Challenges – Digital Answers l Think – Trends in Membership Communication

ABOUT IOP BACKGROUND l Chartered Professional body for physics and physicists l Founded 1874 l c45, 000 members l 10% outside UK & Ireland l Income c£10M – only 13% from member subs

ABOUT IOP – RECENT DEVELOPMENTS l Online and mobile l Brand value and brand development l Segmentation

IOP ONLINE AND MOBILE l Interactivity on websites l MemberTalk social networking l Comment on content l Feedback l Share l Apps – Apple and Android l LinkedIn/Facebook/Twitter l sub-communities

IOP – BRAND VALUE AND DEVELOPMENT l Physics community l Advocacy – election manifestos l Public engagement l Status and professionalism l Revalidation of CPhys l Employer engagement - awards l Services – information l Redesign/relaunch of web presence l More conferences

IOP – SEGMENTATION l IOPimember l membership l Free students l Fellow get Fellow

IOP – NEXT STEPS l International membership l Analysis of current users l Refinement of offers

THREE MEMBERSHIP ORGANISATION SURVEYS l MemCom – Commercial Revenue Survey l Precedent – Big Challenges – Digital Answers l Think – Trends in Membership Communication

MemCom Commercial Revenue Survey Context for today l Commercial revenue in last twelve months – split with half saying up and half saying down l Web income – almost all have this income stream and report stable or growing income Most depressed area: l Magazine revenue, print and on-line – one third say down a lot. Least developed areas l None currently have mobile platform revenues l Two thirds have no e-bulletin income. Those that do report stable income. SO IF WEB AND INCOME IS STABLE OR GROWING WHAT ABOUT MOBILE? Full details available on next weekwww.memcom.info Supported by

Precedent – Big Challenges – Digital Answers Context for today – Survey findings l 74% said that they take advantage of the digital communication opportunities currently available online, but by way of contrast only 40% said they had sufficient resource to take FULL advantage of the opportunities. l 76% couldn’t say that they had a coherent digital strategy that spans their website, membership database and social media platforms l Only 33% could say that they had a single cross-organisational tool that captured digital and non-digital interactions with members l Less than 15% have a mobile-friendly website (How many of you in the room have one?) OBSERVATIONS IN THE REPORT l Thinking that mobile is the future is a mistake, it is now! l A fascination with Apps – Apps should only be used when they can add tangible value in pursuit of an objective l Understanding that an effective mobile site is not your website made mobile l Rationalising the things that can be most effectively delivered via mobile – being ruthless and focused l How can mobile deliver value to your members? Report available from the Precedent stand and those in the workshop will hear more.

Think – Trends in Membership Communication Context for today – Survey findings l 48% of membership organisations say that they’re scared of social media l Over half of the bodies included in the survey revealed that they had no social media strategy, and most felt they were not making the best use of the medium l When asked which medium of membership communication they would be most likely to cut, 38% said Facebook would be the first to go. TWITTER l Twitter accounts viewed as a work in progress but all but one of the membership bodies were using the medium to communicate with members. l Twitter is used in a variety of ways and for different reasons by membership organisations, from using hashtags to increase involvement at conferences l Or using the network as a modern version of a corporate newswire l Others use tweets to connect with like-minded organisations or to keep stakeholders well-informed Report available from the Think stand and those in the workshop will hear more.